James Parnell Movies

In this western, a discharged cavalry soldier rides a stage to his brother's cattle ranch. En route he meets a dance hall girl. Later he saves her from an outlaw's unsavory advances during a heist. When he gets to his brother's ranch he soon learns that his brother makes his real living by rustling cattle. The disappointed ex-soldier leaves him and goes to a trading post where he marries the dance hall girl. Later, one of the bad brother's men convinces him that his good brother snitched on them to the sheriff leading the rustler to seek revenge. Fortunately he learns that it was all a set-up by the outlaw; instead of killing the good brother, the rustler decides to join him on his fur-trapping excursions. This angers the gang member who rallies the rest of his band together to kill the brothers. The brothers end up killing the outlaws in a shoot-out. Unfortunately the rustlin' brother is also killed. The good brother and his wife end up naming their first born daughter after him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Three army deserters -- Sutton (Joe Maross, Tyler (Grant Williams), and Mertz (James Parnell) -- take refuge on the Ponderosa, beating Little Joe senseless. Outraged, the Cartwrights join a military posse under the command of relentless Captain Bolton (Chris Alcaide). The supporting cast includes Gloria Talbott as Nedda, Dayton Lummis as Colonel Metcalfe, and Sherwood Price as the Corporal. "Escape to the Ponderosa" was written by Robert E. Thompson and Bill Barrett and was first telecast on March 5, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a man serves five years in the state pen for armed robbery. Upon his release, the man is anxious to retrieve the $260,000 in loot he hid before he went to jail. Unfortunately, he is still pursued by both the police and his former gang mates. He ends up severely beaten, robbed, and ultimately cheated by his own lover. Despite these set-backs, the fellow remains content because he now has the love of his former partner's widow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

No sooner has the school bus service been extended to the Cleavers' neighborhood than Beaver (Jerry Mathers) is suspended from riding the bus for getting into a fight. At the suggestion of his parents, Beaver gets back in the good graces of the bus driver by writing a heartfelt letter of apology. Well and good -- but should Beaver share this strategy when his perennial classroom nemesis Judy Hensler (Jeri Weil) likewise gets suspended and tearfully begs Beav for his help? (The ending of this episode is priceless!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although he's been forbidden to visit a local construction site, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) does so anyway, and rips the pants of his best suit in the process. Advised by pal Larry (Rusty Stevens) to make up a "good story" about the accident, Beaver fabricates the whopper to end all whoppers -- and when he's caught in his lie, his parents Ward (Hugh Beaumont) and June (Barbara Billingsley) agree not to punish him providing that he promises to tell the truth from now on. Unfortunately, Beav subsequently rips his other good pair of pants under circumstances that border on the ridiculous -- and when he tries to tell the truth to his mom and dad, they refuse to believe him! This episode is also known as "Beaver Disowns His Parents." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This unusual western drama stars Ben Cooper as Jeff Blaine ,a twelve-year-old boy growing up sans a mother or a father in the small town of Plainsville. Jeff's mom died during his infancy, and his dad Nate (Dane Clark) left not long after and became an outlaw. With both of the parents absent, Jeff's aunt, Ruth Sewall (Ellen Drew) decided to step in and raise the young boy. As the tale opens, Nate turns up at Ruth's home and reveals his recent involvement in a gunfight. Because the law is on his tail, his time is rapidly running out. Though Nate hopes to make amends with his son, Jeff stringently rejects him, and Ruth backs up the boy's sentiments by politely asking Nate to leave, then returning the meager amount of support money that Nate sent to Jeff. In time, father and son do begin to make amends, but several obstacles threaten to stand in the way of a peaceful long-term relationship between them, including the violence of Nate's past, and the hostility of Ruth, who soon demonstrates that she's willing to do almost anything to make sure that the outlaw father doesn't take permanent custody of his son. ~ All Movie Guide

War Drums manages to be pro-Indian, pro-Mexican, pro-tolerance and pro-feminist without ever resorting to speechmaking or sacrificing its entertainment value. Former Tarzan Lex Barker stars as an Apache chief who is almost ostracized by his tribe when he marries Mexican girl Joan Taylor. Eventually, Barker is welcomed back, but Joan refuses to behave like a typical dutiful squaw. In deference to his wife's wishes, Barker trains Joan to become an Apache warrior! It is curious that the Political Correctness crowd has never paid homage to War Drums; perhaps it's because of the film's surfeit of decidedly non-PC violence and bloodshed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Down-and-out artist Joe Manning (John Bromfield) wakes up from a night of drunken revelry in a jail cell, where he's being held on suspicion for the murder of a nightclub singer. It so happens that the dead woman was clutching a "class of 1945" high school pin in her hand, and it was on the basis of this circumstantial evidence that Joe was incarcerated. Provided with a phony alibi by friendly carhop Slacks (Julie London), Joe sets about to find the real killer--all the while hoping that it isn't himself. Since there are quite a few 1945 alumni in the neighborhood, Joe really has his work cut out for him. Featured in the supporting cast of Crime Against Joe is corpulent Henry Calvin, the future "Sergeant Garcia" on TV's Zorro, as Joe's cabdriver buddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed on location in the Colorado Rockies, Running Target, per its title, is a feature-length chase. When a group of convicts break out of jail, sheriff Arthur Franz vows to bring the fugitives in without gunfire or bloodshed. Unfortunately, some of the members of Franz' posse don't see things his way: bartender Richard Reeves, for example, is a staunch advocate of the "shoot first and ask questions later" brand of justice. And then there's Doris Dowling, who joins the posse ostensibly because her gas station has been held up by the convicts -- but who is secretly in love with one of the escapees. Running Target represented one of the earliest credited efforts of top cinematographer Conrad Hall, who also collaborated on the script. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While John Ford and Howard Hawks received all the critical plaudits, Lesley Selander quietly went about his business directing some of the best westerns of the 1950s. In Selander's Shotgun, deputy sheriff Clay (Sterling Hayden) embarks upon a long, vengeful journey to track down Thompson (Guy Prescott), the man responsible for his boss' murder. Packing a sawed-off, double-barrelled shotgun for this purpose, Clay also carries a rifle and sixgun for such "lesser" threats as marauding Indians. Rescuing half-breed Abby (Yvonne de Carlo) from certain death, Clay takes her along on his manhunt, and later the two travellers are joined by bounty hunter Reb (Zachary Scott), who intends to get to Thompson first to collect the reward on the fugitive's head. Naturally, a bitter romantic triangle arises involving Clay, Abby and Reb, but this is briefly set aside when Thompson is finally cornered. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

White Christmas, Paramount's belated follow-up to the 1942 hit Holiday Inn, was the studio's first VistaVision production. A veritable warehouse full of oldie-but-goodie Irving Berlin tunes are woven into the film's simplistic plotline, along with a handful of new songs, of which "What Can You Do With a General?" is the least memorable. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye (replacing an ailing Donald O'Connor) play nightclub entertainers Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, while Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen are cast as singing-sister act Betty and Judy. The foursome travel to Vermont to visit Bob and Phil's WII commanding officer, General Waverly (Dean Jagger, who looks and sounds like Dwight D. Eisenhower!), who now runs a rustic old inn. Discovering that the general is in dire financial straits, the four entertainers secretly make plans to bail the old guy out with a big musical show, enlisting the aid of Bob and Phil's army buddies. Corny in the extreme, White Christmas evidently struck a responsive note with film fans; it was the high-grossing picture of 1954, and a decade later proved to be a ratings bonanza when it was given its network-TV premiere. Of the four stars, Crosby comes off best, especially when singing the title song at the beginning and end of the film; Kaye is a bit overshadowed this time out, though he's quite funny camping it up in a "drag" version of Irving Berlin's "Sisters." Still a big favorite on the home-video circuit, White Christmas may not be the best Bing Crosby musical on the market, but it's certainly one of the most heartwarming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pity poor ex-GI Alvah Morrell (Tony Curtis). While on his honeymoon with perky Lee Kingshead (Piper Laurie), he comes down with a bad case of chicken pox. The moment he recovers, he's shipped overseas. And when Alvah returns home, he finds his house festooned with his wife's troublesome relatives -- and, per the film's title, there's no room for him. Complicating matters is Lee's supercilious mother (Spring Byington), who does her best to break up the marriage so that her daughter will be free to marry wealthy-but-dull Herman Strouple (Don DeFore). No Room for the Groom plays like an elongated 2-reel comedy, but the stars are attractive and Douglas Sirk's direction is subtle and inventive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide